Such an Interesting Thing
by Year of the dog
Summary: Girls jealously, she had decided, was certainly an interesting thing.
1. I

_Ho ho! I have finally managed to come up with something that isn't a oneshot. This is my first chaptered story in a long time, though I have to admit I can't really say much since I'm probably making it a two-shot. Well, whatever, at least it's something right? I've always found the jealously in P3 funny, especially since for the most part it's all the NPC's that get all jealous And well, there was lots of scenes/NPC comments that showed people getting jealous over FeMC's relationship with Akihiko, but despite how obvious it was that Ryouji was a hot item there was only one scene that showed the girlies being jealous of her being with him. So I decided this was in order. It's only fair to Ryo-chi you know. I hope you guys all like it, please tell me what you think kay?_

Disclaimer: You know, I could be content with not owning P3 if I could just get my hands on those collector headphones they have.

**Such an Interesting Thing**

Jealousy, she had decided, was a very interesting emotion.

Riichi could only stare down at the letter in her shoebox. She wasn't quite sure what emotion it was that was racing through her at the moment, but whatever the case it was causing her quite a bit a grief. The girl gently, _cautiously_, lifted her arm and stretched delicate fingers towards the letter. She hesitated slightly, curling her fingers away as if afraid, before she curled her lip in irritation with herself and hurriedly snatched the paper up. It wasn't like there was a bomb inside of it; treating it so fearfully was simply degrading to her ego.

With letter in hand, the brunette switched out her shoes for her indoor slippers and furiously tugged them on before rushing off to reach her classroom. She had accidentally slept in today (just one more thing she had to blame Tartarus for. Damn, stupid, ridiculous tower.) and since she had been successful in almost missing the last train and subsequently being late for school, her irritability level had already been at record heights. To get another one of these damn things had now blown it through the roof. She was further alerted to how close she was to missing homeroom when as she jumped up the stairs and dashed through the hallways, she found she was one of _very_ few stragglers.

Riichi threw open the door with such force the sound of it rattling against the runners echoed. The class immediately hushed and she came to the realization that all eyes were now on her. Already flushed from her dash, the girl found her face heating up to a slightly pinker color. This was degrading. Her, the top of class, was almost late for school. The _top of her class. _Not only was it a horrible example to be showing, especially because she was on Student Council as well, but if Mitsuru caught wind of it, the elder woman would have her hide. A threat that Riichi was sure could be made quite literal if the President really put her mind to it.

"Rii-chan!"

She lifted her gaze to have the smiling face of Ryouji fill her vision. He had managed to jump up from his desk and position himself directly in front of her in the short time she had been berating herself. The fact that she hadn't been able to notice this made her flustered all over again.

"Uh, um, Ryouji, I, uh, hi?" she finally managed to stammer out. She was confused, shaken up, and severely disoriented by now. Too many things had happened today that had thrown her around, she needed to sit down and not think for a few moments.

Obviously that wasn't going to happen though, because Ryouji simply gave a flirtatious cock of his head and rocked back on his heels. "I was afraid you might have been sick. You're normally on the train with me so I was getting worried." He nodded once and his smile brightened. Riichi couldn't help but wonder how radiant one's smile could get. "But I'm glad you're here. It wouldn't be the same if I wasn't able to see you."

Riichi felt her cheeks burning up once again. She was unable to look him in the face anymore, and averted her eyes. But in doing so she was forced to realize the heated glares of almost every girl in the class. Her hands clenched in embarrassment and irritation, to which there was a responding crunch of paper. Her gaze went down to investigate and she was reminded of why exactly she was having such a bad day.

Ryouji's sight followed her own, and he pointed at the letter with interest. "A love letter?" he asked, looking far too innocent to be merely curious.

She looked back up to meet his gaze and found her expression going flat. "None of your business," she dropped, then brushed past him. Really, the _cause_ of her distress was asking her what it was?

Not to be deterred Ryouji followed her back to her desk. She elegantly sat down and went about situating herself. The boy bent over to be on eye-level with her and asked again. "Who's it from?" he prodded. He looked slightly miffed when she continued to ignore him.

"Hey Ryouji! You should stop giving Rii-tan a hard time. Cutie didn't get enough beauty sleep last night." Despite it not being directed at her, Riichi found herself mimicking Ryouji and looking up in response to Junpei. He grinned impishly and when he realized he had their attention he gave a dramatic wave of his hand.

Ryouji pursed his lips in thought. After a moment of that his face went positively pale. "How, how do you know that Junpei-kun?" he asked, voice almost failing him near the end.

It didn't take her long to figure out where his train of thought had gone. Riichi reeled back and gave him a swift kick to the shin. Ryouji yelped and staggered as his leg attempted to give way. "It was _nothing_ like that," she ground out.

When Ryouji still looked unconvinced -she couldn't really figure out why, but she swore he looked terrified as well- she shot her glare to Junpei. The boy merely laughed in delight and continued to give that goofy grin. Sensing the animosity that was quickly brewing -and probably sick of the foolishness already- Yukari gave a loud sigh. "She was studying all of last night Ryouji-kun," the girl put in. "I was with her all night. Stupei's just being an idiot."

Junpei's responding complaints rung through the classroom, but all Riichi could focus on was how relieved Ryouji looked. When he realized she was staring at him he gave a shaky smile and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to indicate his seat. "I'm gonna go sit down now. Talk to ya' later Rii-chan." With that parting he all but darted for his desk.

Riichi cocked her head and then decided to ignore it. Ryouji would tell her if something was really bothering him, he almost always did. She on the other hand… The girl looked down at the paper still in her hand and bit her lip. She shoved the thing in her desk and decided she would bother with it later during lunch. If she spent anymore time worrying about it the whole thing would cause everyone else unnecessary worry.

The door slid open again and Ms. Toriumi's arrival signaled the beginning of class.

oOo

"Aw Reech you're no fun," Junpei complained. She had to chuckle at how he splayed his self across her desk. "What's so important that you can't eat lunch with your best bud?"

Riichi gave a light giggle before leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms. "You're only mad cuz Ryou-kun got whisked away by his fans," she accused. He merely snorted and waved the comment away as if it were utter blasphemy. "Besides, I got a date," she stated matter-of-factly, lifting her nose in the air in a mock form of self-importance.

She wasn't sure if he picked up on the joke or not, but Junpei looked delighted either way. "Oh-ho!" he cried, making whoever was left in the class look over at them in surprise and confusion. "So I've finally managed to rub off on you eh. Tell me now, whose the lucky guy?" He leaned over in interest. In his excitement he almost succeeded in knocking his forehead against hers.

The girl merely cocked her head. "Se-cre-t," she sang. Her index finger lifted and placed itself cutely in front of her mouth in emphasis. Riichi pushed against the floor and the chair skidded backward. She managed to wiggle her way out of it, stand up, and pocket the letter without Junpei noticing before he finally straightened back to his full height.

"I bet it's Akihiko-san isn't it," Junpei said under his breath. He looked positively giddy at this prospect. "You can't hide it from me, master knows all." With a grand flourish he placed one hand on his hip, and slapped the other one down on her shoulder. "I have taught you well my young apprentice."

Riichi giggled, ignored his touch, and placed her finger back to her mouth. "Not telling," she teased again. "I'll see ya' after school," she promised, waving her hand as she danced out of the classroom. As soon as she was out of his range, she lost all of her energy. Keeping her gaze trained to the floor in front of her, Riichi shoved her hand back in her pocket to make sure the paper was still there. She didn't like lying to Junpei, but it was the only way she would have gotten out of there alone.

The thing she was really thankful for was that Ryouji hadn't been there to interfere. It had unknowingly become normal for her to eat with him and Junpei (though she supposed it was already pretty normal for her to eat with Junpei. It had become almost ritualistic after they realized that the both of them got dumped by their friends, namely Yukari, more often than not during the lunch period.) and he always got unnaturally worried when she was unable to. She also wasn't sure why, but she was unable to lie to him. Perhaps it was the unbelievably comfortable sense of nostalgia he brought her. So even though an uncomfortable ball had formed in her stomach when the girls had, quite literally, dragged him away with them, she had been elated at the same time. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to shake him off had he been here.

She climbed the steps, rushing through the small area of the senior hallway she had to go through -she didn't want to accidentally run into Akihiko, especially after Junpei's teasing she was sure had been heard by the class- and eventually succeeded in climbing the last staircase to the roof. Both physically and mentally exhausted now, Riichi pushed open the door and made her way across the expanse of the roof. It wasn't completely devoid of people, but most of them were either small groups of boys, or couples, and none of them really paid her much attention, other than the group of sophomores that all stopped, whispered amongst each other, and looked at her with adoring eyes. She hadn't thought her popularity had extended to the underclassmen as well. Perhaps she needed to stop hanging around Yukari and Misturu at school. Being near such eye-catching people sometimes brought about it's own troubles.

She managed to find a corner that was away from the others, and Riichi flopped down unceremoniously. Her hand removed itself from her skirt pocket, fingers still delicately clutched around the paper. After looking it over for a few moments she smoothed it out before gently opening it. Her name was written in the same royal blue ink and looping letters, there was no doubt that it was another one of _those_.

_Arisato Riichi,_

_Do everyone the favor of getting rid of yourself. Just because Mochizuki-san is nice to you doesn't mean you can monopolize his kindness. There's a limit to being a man-eater you slut._

Riichi sighed and crumbled the thing in-between her hands. She knew it.

The first one had come about three days ago. At first she had come to the same conclusion as Ryouji; a love letter. It was probably because she had gotten so used to them after having retrieved so many that the possibility of receiving one of these instead had never really occurred to her. When she had opened it later that day, all it had read was "_Die_". To say she had been surprised was an understatement, but it had opened her eyes a little, and she had gradually come to the realization that it was probably from one of the girls in her class. Maybe even a joint effort by a group of them. She had begun to notice their glares whenever she was near Ryouji. That on top of the fact that she was close to Akihiko, already a massive heartthrob even if he was incredibly dense to it, had probably set them all off. Despite the fact that most of it wasn't really in her control, Riichi figured it was probably her own fault.

Girls' jealously was really an interesting thing.

Another sigh escaped her lips and Riichi found herself leaning tiredly against the concrete wall behind her. She had never experienced the emotion, so she couldn't really say she understood what was going through their heads. Having never taken such an interest in a boy, anything related to this was completely new to her. She clucked her tongue and briefly considered tearing up the note and slipping the pieces through the gaps in the fence, but decided against it. She didn't want to have being a litterer on her conscious as well. That and there was always a possibility that if she didn't rip them up into small enough pieces, someone would find a few of them and get the gist of the letter.

"Maybe I should I should tell Ryou-kun to keep some distance for a while," she muttered. For some reason the very thought of that made her chest ache. When she had decided that was probably out of the question she pursed her lips and glared at the floor. What else was there _to_ do?

After a moment Riichi lifted her gaze and steeled her expression. "This is just stupid," she declared to no one. The girl picked herself up and crunched the paper into an even smaller ball. Letting a bunch of schoolgirls dictate who she was hanging out with. There were so many things wrong with this picture it was making her sick to her stomach. She fought shadows on an almost daily basis, she went on trips that anyone would call a suicide mission into Tartarus, she had enough stamina now to win a Marathon, and she was the _leader_ of a group that risked their lives everyday. What could a group of girls do that was worse than what she had already seen? She gave one swift nod in affirmation of this, and then proceeded to walk confidently out the door, down the stairs and back into the classroom. Halfway there she had chucked the letter away ferociously in an attempt to further concrete her decision.

Apparently her resolve wasn't as strong as she had thought it to be though, because when she stepped inside 2-F's classroom, the hoards of secret glares she could feel boring into her were making her rethink her decision.

oOo

She was pretty happy that the rest of school had gone by without a hitch. Despite her earlier resolution, Riichi had been on the lookout for any signs of foul play all afternoon. When the last bell had rung she had found herself heaving a sigh of relief she didn't know she had been holding in. Either they had decided that just harassing her via notes was the way to go, or maybe they were giving her a day to see what her decision would be. Either way she was grateful.

Riichi stood and collected her bag, hefting the strap over her shoulder to procure a better hold over it. She was prepared to walk across the room and out into the hallway, when she was interrupted halfway through her journey.

Ryouji cut in front of her, holding out his hand for her to take. "Would the princess like an escort home?" he asked, smiling sweetly.

Riichi couldn't help but freeze. Her first instincts were merely to giggle and take his hand. In fact, she had already raised her own hand in an attempt to link it with his. It had become such habit to simply go along with whatever it was he wanted, that she was beginning to wonder if maybe the girls weren't right to be angry with her. To anyone it did look as if they were exceptionally close. She supposed too close in the eyes of all of his fans.

Seeming to sense her hesitation, Ryouji's smile gained a slightly worried tinge, and he almost seemed to lunge for her hand. As a reflex Riichi pulled her arm back and ducked sideways to avoid him. When he had steadied himself he gave her such a pained and confused look that she felt obligated to apologize.

"S-sorry Ryou-kun," she said, using the nickname she had given him after they had each decided they felt too familiar with the other to be calling each other formally. "You surprised me, it's just habit." She tried to laugh it off, but found herself faltering when he didn't seem to believe it. Riichi bit her lip and clutched her bag closer to her. "So," she started, "Where to today?" Trying to further apologize, she took the initiative and gently slid her hand into his, lacing their fingers together.

Ryouji smiled, though it was obvious how forced it really was. For some reason this made her chest ache almost as much as it had earlier on the rooftop. Riichi opened her mouth to say something else, and was promptly interrupted by the arm that was slung over her shoulders.

Junpei gave her a light shake and moved his other hand to give Ryouji a thumbs up. "What's up guys?" he asked, completely missing the awkward atmosphere that had enveloped the two. "Leaving already? How cruel, won't even wait for your ol' pal Junpei."

Ryouji gave a forced chuckle and tried to feign penitence. "Well, Rii-chan was all ready to leave, and I thought I should escort her. It's dangerous for someone as pretty as she is to be walking out there alone."

Junpei nodded understandingly, rubbing his chin with his free hand as if in deep thought. "Ah I see, so Rii-tan's the primary offender." Suddenly a grin enveloped his face, and Riichi found herself being shaken roughly. "How sneaky you are girly, trying to ditch me twice in one day." She gave a yelp as he clutched her neck tightly in a hold and used his free hand to clench into a fist and gently drill her head with it.

Vaguely she felt Ryouji's grip on her hand tighten, then release. Despite being preoccupied, a small part of her felt almost desperate when she felt his fingers slip out of hers.

"Junpei, get off," she snarled, squirming this way and that in an attempt to release herself. The boy chuckled joyfully before finally rewarding her efforts. Riichi panted from exertion and focused her glare on him. "Stupei," she muttered as revenge.

Junpei glared right back at her. "I don't need _you _calling me that to," he snapped. Riichi responded by refusing to look at him. He sighed and shook his head before sidling up between her and Ryouji and throwing an arm over both their shoulders. She took it with surprise. She noticed Ryouji took it with reluctance.

"So," Junpei started as he drove them out of the classroom and en route to escape the school. "Ryouji, how was lunch huh? I bet it was heaven being surrounded by all of those girls." When they had reached the gates he released them and shoved his hands into his pockets joyfully,

Ryouji took a while to answer, and had to be shaken to finally come out of his daze. "Huh? Oh, yeah, it was nice," he said, smiling tiredly. "I'd have much rather'd eaten with you two though," he continued. Riichi found herself smiling despite herself.

Junpei interrupted her glee by chuckling. "It's probably better that you didn't, little miss heartthrob here had a date today," he teased.

Riichi found her spirits falling at once, especially when she noticed Ryouji's face lose color for the second time today. "Is, is that so?" he asked, trying hard to keep his smile on. "But, wouldn't that make you jealous Junpei-kun?"

Both Junpei and herself looked at each other for a moment before turning their confused expressions towards the other boy. "Why?" they both chorused.

Ryouji seemed to find this exceptionally surprising. "W-well," he stammered, their blatant confusion successful in confusing himself as well. "I mean, aren't you two, well, you know…"

Junpei got it before she did. He made a face before shaking his head. "Hell no man. I mean, Reech is a great girl and all, but we're pretty incompatible."

That was all it took for the girl to understand as well. She choked slightly and the other two took a few moments to make sure she was okay. "Are you serious?" she asked when finally settled. "Junpei would be the worst boyfriend ever." Despite the fact that she was entirely serious, a teasing glint entered her eyes.

"Gee thanks," he retorted. "But you know you're not much of a catch yourself." Riichi bristled at this. "Hey Ryouji, know how many bad habits she has?" Still surprised all the boy could do was shake his head in the negative. "Well she eats enough to feed a whale, sleeps out on one of the couches in the lounge and snores all the live-long-day, and is completely defenseless."

Riichi, who had been getting redder as the list went on, tugged at his sleeve furiously. "Junpei shut up," she ordered.

He decided to ignore this. "She had this really creepy guy come up to her on the street once and asked her how much she wanted to be in a video shoot. She totally agreed to go with him after coercing a months supply of instant ramen outta him. If I hadn't been there who knows what mighta happened to her."

Junpei sniggered as she gave another tug at his sleeve. "Shut _Up_," she ground, now completely furious. When he only continued to snigger she narrowed her gaze. "Junpei also has bad habits," she put in. The boy stopped laughing in favor of looking at her warily. "There was this time when the dorm all went to Shirakawa Boulevard," she started waiting for his answer.

"I thought we weren't ever going to talk about that," Junpei snarled, keeping his voice barely above a whisper to keep anyone from her hearing it.

Riichi merely shrugged and smiled giddily. Ryouji, now confused for a different reason, decided to give his input. "I think those are all really cute traits," he said, making Riichi blush beautifully. "It makes me glad I keep an eye on you after school though. If anything happened to you I'm not sure what I would do."

There was such a gentle sincerity in his voice that she found herself almost melting. Her eyes met his and for a moment all that existed for her was him and his soft smile.

Obviously unable to read the mood, Junpei spoke up again. "So now that _that's_ out in the air," he said, "Let's get back to how your date went."

Ryouij's face fell once more, and Riichi found herself cursing the moron who decided to ruin the happy atmosphere they had just managed to recover. "It's wasn't a date," she responded. "I just had to meet someone."

The capped boy in-between them was having none of it. "Psh, don't give me that. She went to meet Akihiko-san." His grin went absolutely dark and Riichi found herself curling her lip at the look he was giving her. If he had been any more obvious to what he was thinking, he would have had to say out loud, _'Hanky panky went down'._

"No, I didn't," she sniffed. "And would you stop smiling like that, it's creepy." She shivered in response, and refused to say anything more until he gave up and allowed his regular smile to surface. "I just had to respond to something."

Ryouji looked relieved for a short moment, before once again looking down. "You mean that letter earlier?" he ventured. Her surprised expression was all he needed as an answer. "So, what did you say?" he asked, his voice petering out at the end.

This seemed to get Junpei's excitement level back up. "You mean you have another admirer?" he almost shouted. "Damn, he's gotta have balls of steel," he laughed. "I thought they were all terrified of trying to get you after you went home with Shinjirou-senpai."

Ryouji cocked his head, confusion now overcoming whatever it was that was making him depressed. "Why would that scare them off?" he asked.

Riichi sighed and placed her head in her free hand. "It's nothing Ryou-kun," she assured. "Junpei's being a moron. They're not afraid of anything."

"Au contrair," Junpei piped up. "That's right though, he had that accident before you showed up. Well Ryouji, let me tell you."

Riichi gave another sigh, this one more exasperated than the last, and shook her head. "Here we go," she muttered.

Junpei ignored her in favor of paying attention to Ryouji's eager gaze. "Well, before summer vacation ended, all the guys were all over Rii-tan here. Under my guidance she was a hot item you know." Ryouji nodded energetically to show how attent he was. "Well after school started back up we got another member, Akihiko-san's old friend. Shinjirou-senpai was a pretty cool guy, but he was damn terrifying if you didn't know him. So when he actually came to school for once and ended up walking her home, he scared the living daylights out of all the guys gunning for her." Junpei chuckled and nodded his head curtly. "Well I guess some of the ones really serious about her still tried, but Senpai showed how much he appreciated that really quickly."

Ryouji found himself silent for a few moments, before he looked back up at the two of them. "Were you two dating?" he asked tentatively, as if afraid of the answer.

Riichi shook her head. "No, we were just good friends. He just got mad because they kept trying to talk to me whenever he picked me up. Shinji-senpai was, well, pretty antisocial." She couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of it.

The black-haired boy nodded again before straightening up. "So," he began, and she swore that he steeled his expression. As if he was preparing himself for something. "How did you respond?" When both she and Junpei cocked their heads quizzically, he tried again. "To the letter," he specified. "How did you respond?"

Her mouth formed an 'o' and Riichi found her free arm lifting to wave in front of her face. "I said no," she answered. It wasn't really a lie, though the question wasn't the same. It hadn't been to an admirer, but she had pretty much told the girls 'no' in a sense. While Junpei looked almost disappointed, Ryouji looked enormously relieved. She opened her mouth to ask about it when he looked down at his watch and yelped.

"Shoot," he cursed."I promised Yumi-chan I'd meet up with her and a few of the other girls at a café in a few minutes." He looked sincerely apologetic, but Riichi found herself biting her lip in irritation. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, take care of her alright Junpei-kun? I'm counting on you!" Ryouji smiled radiantly before giving a quick wave and dashing off in the other direction.

"Don't worry, the princess is safe with me!" Junpei called out in reassurance after him. He chuckled lightly before giving Riichi a light shake and forcing them to move foreword. "That Ryouji's sure a character," he joked. "You should feel special since he takes such great pains to take care of you." Junpei laughed merrily and grinned down at her. "Of course you're our little princess too, so we can't lose when it comes to protecting ya'."

Riichi laughed along with his joke, but her heart wasn't in it. Her chest ached horribly and though she wasn't sure why, she knew she didn't want him leaving. The thought of him laughing along with all those girls was forming a lump in her throat that no amount of swallowing would get rid of.

"Hey." Junpei brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him to show she was listening. "Did something happen between you two?" he asked. "He's been acting weirdly ever since this morning. And that whole thing about us dating was really out of the blue as well."

The girl bit her lip and shook her head. So she hadn't been the only one to notice it. That both relieved and worried her. At least she wasn't reading too much into it, but at the same time it meant that something was really wrong if Junpei had seen it to.

He shrugged and fixed the lip of his cap. "Oh well, he'll feel better once he's on his little date. Being surrounded by hotties is enough to lift any guys spirits you know. The lucky bastard," he laughed at the ending and gave her a reassuring smile.

Riichi forced herself to smile back. She was glad Junpei was feeling better about the whole thing. But that idea had only managed to make her feel worse.


	2. II

_I really had intended this to be a simple two-shot. But as I was writing it, it became increasingly longer, and I just had to cut the poor thing in half. So now it's a, three-shot? Well, whatever it is, it's in three parts. I'm very sorry for taking so long to get this out. I had a myriad of things going on, and honestly I had a lack of motivation thanks on part to other things I was writing. But it's out, and the third chapter should be coming soon behind it. Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you've liked it so far. I only hope that you continue to, especially because I think I rushed bits and pieces of it. No matter._

**II**

She hadn't planned on meeting him on the train that morning. To tell the truth she hadn't really "planned" anything at all, but had she, this certainly wouldn't have been part of it.

Riichi peered at his smiling face through half-lidded eyes. If she wasn't mistaken, he looked almost elated to see her. Had she had the energy to, she would have smiled right back at him and matched his ever-cheery greeting. But as it stood, all the girl could manage was a cross between a grunt and a moan, and a nod that might actually have been her body's failed attempt at falling back asleep.

Ryouji, she was sure but couldn't really see, was probably wearing an expression that mirrored what one would have had they just found out their cat had been run over. "Are you okay?" he finally asked. She thought he sounded far more concerned than it was really necessary to be.

She nodded again -and again was unsure of whether it was a true nod. "Yeah, I just spent too much time studying again last night," she assured. That was a lie, in reality they had ended up spending too much time in Tartarus again, and her irritation from early yesterday had caused her to make some reckless decisions. Her left hipbone was still reminding her of how stupid that had been.

There was a responding 'Ah' from the boy, and she was forced to realize that he didn't buy it. Mercifully he didn't press anymore though; one of the many things about him she had grown very thankful of.

He fidgeted silently for a few more moments, before he spoke up again. "We still have about twenty minutes to go," he said. "If you want, you can lean against me and try and doze a bit."

Riichi couldn't help the soft smile that she felt flutter across her face. "Thank you," she told him, and did as he had suggested. He felt very warm, she decided. With this in mind, she unconsciously found the hand that wasn't holding her school bag gently holding onto his sleeve as she allowed herself to doze off for a while longer.

oOo

Riichi found herself cursing her stupidity all through homeroom. Why had she allowed herself to be taken so easily in by Ryouji? She had known full well that it was a disaster waiting to happen, what with the damn girls getting bolder with their threats. (She still wasn't quite sure why they called her a man-eater though. Other than the misunderstanding with Junpei, and the fact that being friends with Akihiko was taboo unless you had a Y chromosome, she didn't think she had done enough to warrant _that _kind of title.) But she had thrown caution to the wind, and allowed herself to be pulled along at his pace.

It didn't help that after she had fallen asleep on him, he had ushered her into school by holding her hand and telling her it was alright to continue to lean on him. A suggestion she had accepted with open arms in her still drowsy state.

So now not only were the girls glaring hard enough to put her in physical pain, but when she had walked into the classroom (still holding hands with Ryouji; it had felt so nostalgic that she had forgotten it was supposed to be a bad thing.) even the boys were whispering amongst themselves.

The boy had merely greeted them all normally, either completely oblivious to or completely ignoring the atmosphere that had now enveloped the class. To make matters worse, he had boldly escorted her all the way to her seat, made sure she was settled, and then made a grand show of kissing her hand like the damn player he was and declaring, "I'll make sure to check up on you throughout the day." She had been so out of it that she had merely accepted it in due course.

Oh she loved this boy, but there were times when he was such a damn pain.

True to his word, every time the teachers rotated he came back and verified her condition. The times when she was awake -honor student or not, she was damn tired and there was no way she was going to be able to resist sleeping through at least _some_ of her morning classes- she occasionally caught him glancing back at her. It was even more embarrassing, after she had regained some of her sense, when he smiled brightly and cocked his hand in a light wave.

The whole ordeal wouldn't have been so bad had his every action not made the girls in the class glare at her with fierce abhorrence, and the boys snicker and make cat-calls. (Junpei joined in as well, though she was pretty sure he thought this was just them being friendly with each other. She grudgingly admitted in his defense that her and Ryouji had been quite affectionate since day one.) The laughing she wouldn't have minded so much had it not made the girls even angrier. It was like a vicious cycle. The more she looked uncomfortable, the more Ryouji checked on her, which made the boys laugh harder, making the girls angrier, which made her more uncomfortable. Riichi found herself briefly wondering if maybe this was her punishment for something she had done. Being too nonchalant around guys maybe?

It had gotten to the point that when lunch came around she was relieved to be forsaken by everyone for more interesting things. So even though the girls all left shooting daggers behind their backs, she was more or less left alone. It probably also helped that it was Ryouji's turn to fetch their lunch and thus, after assuring her rather heatedly that he would be back as soon as possible, he had bolted out of the room without her.

As such, this left her and Junpei seated on opposite sides of her desk, while Yukari had stolen the chair from the one across the row to pull over. With the extra girl they were positioned in a triangle, though Yukari had chosen to sit a good foot away from them. Riichi briefly wondered if this was because she was unsure if she wanted to be associated with them, or if it was a precaution against whatever Junpei might decide to try. She supposed the boy did warrant a great deal of caution if you were any female but herself.

"It's rare that you're here Yuka-tan," Junpei remarked. His cocky grin and wiggling eyebrows weren't doing much to make the girl in question regard him favorably though. "Did your other friends all ditch you?"

As expected, Yukari snorted. "I'm not like _you_," she snipped. "I just felt like eating with Riichi today is all." She reached over and jabbed a finger into the girl's shoulder, as if doing so would be all the proof in the world. Riichi merely laughed in response, not sure how else she was supposed to respond to this. "By the way, are you alright? You haven't been this tired in a while," the girl commented, losing her irritation in favor of glancing at the dark brunette worriedly.

Riichi cocked her head before smiling brightly. "Never better," she chirped, eyes sparkling in giddiness. "Just didn't get enough sleep last night, but I'm okay now." She looked so happy right then that the other two didn't have to heart to point out just how strange she had been acting earlier. In her defense she really was feeling better. Taking all those power naps throughout the morning had helped out a lot more than she had ever hoped for. Other than the lingering dread of the girls impending return, and the dull ache that just wouldn't leave her hip, she was feeling quite fine.

Before either of them could really get in another word, the door swung open violently. The three whipped their gazes towards it, each rather surprised when Ryouji's panting face was what greeted them.

"Sorry," the boy managed to gasp out, as he smiled apologetically and gently shut the door. "There was a long line already, and I simply couldn't cut in front of the ladies." There was a mixed reaction to that which included Yukari's rolled eyes, Junpei's snigger, and Riichi's irritated pout. One of which she wasn't sure why she had when she caught herself.

Ignoring their disapproval Ryouji strolled over and distributed the food accordingly. "Sorry Yukari-san, I didn't know you would be eating with us today so I didn't get you any." He nodded his head towards her in yet another gesture of apology. "If you would like, I could make it up to you by taking you out to-"

The rest of his sentence of was cut off by Riichi's fingers clamped around his ear. Yukari didn't respond, but by her curled lip it was obvious she was about as excited with his proposal as her fellow female was."Alright Casanova sit down," the smaller one ordered moodily. An order he obeyed at once by stealing the chair from the desk in front of hers and swinging it around to sit barely two inches away. Riichi found herself wondering if he was as conscious of the fact that their knees were resting against each other as she was.

Junpei, who had pretty much ignored the whole exchange in favor of biting into his bread roll, held out his hand in expectance. "Where's my change?"

Ryouji looked rather confused for a moment. A slight look of recognition fluttered across his face before he beamed sweetly. "I used it to help pay for Rii-chan's lunch," he revealed. To this Junpei looked aghast and Riichi simply looked confused.

"I didn't give you enough?" she asked. But by the way she had a death grip on her roll, and the fact that she took a bite out of it right after this statement, she had no intentions of relinquishing the thing.

He patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Oh it's alright. You were having a hard morning, it's a simple mistake. Besides, I'm sure Junpei's delighted to be able to pay for such a cute girl's lunch."

The boy in question snarled into his bread. "I pay for your food all the time damnit. Why do I have to pay for it today too?"

Yukari decided now was the time to give her input, and did it by snorting in annoyance. "Oh come on," she sniffed. "How much was it? A hundred yen? You're not that poor are you?"

Junpei merely hissed at her. "You don't understand the needs of a starving student! And it's not possible for met to get a job."

"I have a job," Riichi piped up.

"You also have a feminine sex appeal!" he wheeled on her.

Ryouji gazed at him disapprovingly. "Now that's not true Junpei-kun," he reproached him. "It's true Rii-chan's adorable, but I'm sure she got the job because of how she works." He gave a curt nod of his head, crossing his arms over his chest in what might have been an attempt to look more menacing. Riichi only thought it made _him_ look adorable.

Junpei, unfortunately, didn't share this thought process. "Then why doesn't she pay for ramen after school!" he snarled, jabbing a finger accusingly at her. "If she's so made-of-money then why is it always me who picks up her tab?"

"Because I buy all your equip-" she began to say, before Yukari reached over and slapped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

Riichi's eyes met the other girl's, and she almost froze in fear at the frenzy they were in. "You buy his baseball equipment, don't you," Yukari said through ground teeth when Ryouji gave the both of them a rather alarmed look. Unable to do anything else at that moment, Riichi nodded mechanically.

Junpei let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I uh, forgot about that," he admitted, looking almost fearful. It all made sense when it was noticed that Yukari was now giving him the stink-eye.

Ryouji, perhaps in an attempt to relieve the tension that now enveloped them like a blanket, spoke up. "I didn't know you played baseball," he said. His rather nervous expression didn't leave until Yukari had removed her hand from Riichi and was back in the safety of her own seat. After that Riichi was under the impression that the glances he kept shooting towards her were in order to make sure she was alright. "You're not on the school team are you?" he followed up.

Junpei shook his head. "It's uh, an outside thing," he stammered, stumbling through the lie he was constructing on the spot. "A hobby I guess." It would have been a lot more believable had he sounded like he wasn't scared out of his wits. The tension, if anything, only escalated, and they now sat in an awkward silence.

"So!" Riichi spoke up, afraid that if this continued any longer it wouldn't be resolved for days. "What's everyone doing after school today?"

As if this was the lifeline they had been waiting for, the group all moved at once. Yukari lost her stiffly straight posture, slumping back lightly in her chair, Junpei busied himself with once more devouring his bread, and Ryouji's smile reverted back to it's original easiness. He settled back down, an action that shifted his knee away from hers. Riichi fretted her bottom lip until she felt the warmth of the contact once more knock back against her knee. She was again unsure of why this had caused her so much unease.

"I don't have any plans," the raven haired boy responded.

Junpei grinned into his roll. "Hey Ryouji, you should update us on that little date you had yesterday," he suggested. "Over a bowl of ramen?"

Ryouji chuckled and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. "Nothing really happened," he assured. "But I wouldn't object to any questions. Or going out if Rii-chan's coming."

"I'm totally in," she announced. Despite the fact that she didn't want to hear about his adventures with his fan girls, a small part of her held immense curiosity about what had happened. Almost like the guilty pleasure of watching gossip shows. Junpei snorted at their exchange. "Dude, of course she's coming," he assured the other boy, shooting wary glances towards the girl in question. "There's food involved, why wouldn't she hop on the bandwagon?"

Riichi sniffed, clearly offended by the implication. "I don't base everything on food," she retorted. "I just happen to want ramen today. Besides, you're the one who's always offers to pay."

"If by today you mean, everyday, then yeah you'd be right," he snapped right back. "My wallet's your second best friend after food."

Ryouji once more came to her defense. "You should feel honored to always get to treat such a cute girl," he chided Junpei, who only bristled at his words. "It's the gentlemanly way to do things."

Riichi bit her cheek in irritation. "Now you're making me feel bad too," she muttered, which made Ryouji start and fumble furiously to find a way to fix his mistake. She spoke up again before he had succeeded. "If you're so caught up in the fact that you always pay, then why don't we roshambo for it?"

Junpei contemplated this for a few moments before setting his roll down and nodding. "Alright, I'm up for that." He lifted his hands and placed his closed fist in his open palm. Riichi mirrored him, leveling her narrowed gaze on his.

They were both surprised when Ryouji stuck his hands in as well. "It's only fair right?" he smiled. With this statement out of the way, he directed his smile solely on Riichi. "I'll pay for you no matter what okay?"

She felt herself blush wonderfully even as Junpei scowled at them. "Oh come on, Don't let her do that to you man," he griped.

Ryouji pouted. "I want to though. You shouldn't be so cold Junpei-kun."

While the two of them softly bickered, Riichi remembered the other occupant of the group. "Yukari, you wanna throw in too?" she asked. Her good-natured smile was replaced with one of confusion when Yukari let out a breath of a chuckle and shook her head.

"I'd rather not," the girl replied. "I have club after school today." When Riichi nodded sullenly in understanding she couldn't help but laugh a little more. "I think I understand it now."

Her comment was received with a general confusion by the other three, who exchanged looks before each leveling her with an intense stare. Yukari took it with a raised eyebrow. "The nickname," she explained. "I had a general idea of what you guys were like, but I hadn't thought that thing was as right as it is." When none of their puzzlement seemed to be alleviated, she gave a grand sigh and leaned foreword. "You guys know the seniors are calling you the 'idiot threesome' right?"

This was regarded with yet another round of blank stares. Junpei was the first to pipe up this time. "The seniors are?" he asked dumbly. Yukari sighed, rolled her eyes, and made a grand show of nodding.

"So we're thought of as idiots? But Rii-chan's at the top of the class, and I don't _think_ I'm doing bad," Ryouji followed up.

Riichi just pouted. "I bet Akihiko-sempai started it," she sulked.

Whatever the case the three brushed it off without a second thought. It briefly occurred to Yukari that maybe the three really were as simple as people were beginning to think them. Junpei was a given, Ryouji was too much of a player for his own good, and brains or not, when she was with the other two Riichi was pretty easy to string along for anything. This thought was followed by another one along the lines of, maybe it wasn't exactly smart to hang around these people, which was dashed quickly when the girl remembered how good a friend their leader was, and how Junpei could actually be kind of fun to be around when he lost his general perverseness.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road. And no cheating, got it girly!" Junpei leveled the girl with a strict glare. Riichi gave a curt nod, already concentrating seriously on the task at hand.

By the end of it, Riichi was pronounced winner, and ruled that since he had been the first out, Junpei was to once again pick up the bill.

oOo

The rest of the day had gone by pretty well. Lunch had left her in such high spirits that she had completely forgotten about how she was at the top of the hit list for every Ryouji fan in the school. But her high was so, well high, that even when she got a front seat reminder to it, the girls' glares did little to put any chinks in her happiness. Maybe it was simply because things seemed to be going back to normal. Yessiree, no more strange nausea, and chest pain, and irritation at the raven-haired Casanova being around hordes of other -more adoring- girls.

Of course, it was because of this that she forgot about the one thing she had promised not to show anyone. She really only had herself to blame for the surprise that came when she opened her shoe locker and a pale pink letter greeted her from it's position neatly set on top of her shoes. It looked so harmless sitting there. As if it had no idea whatsoever what it was really there for. Despite the fact that she had prepared herself for receiving another of these, it didn't make it any less shocking.

"Oh. Rii-chan is that another love letter?"

Her gaze whipped to the left to focus on the owner of the voice. Ryouji stood there, looking so innocent it was almost impossible to take him seriously. Riichi was unable to do anything but nod blankly at him. Love letter? Oh how she wished, she could handle one of those. Lovesick fools were much easier to deal with then murderous women.

He let out a chuckle that might have been strained to the trained ear. "My, you're awfully popular nowadays aren't you Rii-chan," the boy teased. She gave another nod. "Well, maybe we should see who it's from."

Ryouji lifted a hand and reached into her shoe locker. It took her until his fingers brushed the corner of the letter before Riichi could grasp what was happening. The girl's eyes went wide in desperation and her right hand grasped the door of the locker. She wheeled back and slammed it as hard as she could. Ryouji let out a yelp and yanked his hand back so fast the girl could barely see it. She stared dumbly at her hand before her gaze shifted to the boy, and then she was able to put two and two together.

Riichi let go of the door like it was on fire. "Oh god, Ryouji, I'm sorry! Oh shoot, is it that bad? Can you feel it? I'm so, so sorry. Move it around a bit -or can you even do that? Should I call someone? I'll get Edogawa-sensei. On second thought that's probably a bad idea. Ms. Ounishi! I'll get her! We need to get that treated!" In her panicked state all Riichi could do was babble and flutter around him like a deranged bird. Damnit, she hadn't meant to actually hurt him. She had been so desperate to keep him from getting his paws on that letter that the only thing she could think of was the fastest way to deter him from it. Apparently the fastest had also been the most potentially dangerous. Perhaps they really should refrain from going to Tartarus for a while; the damn tower was certainly honing her 'fight' response to the peak of it's performance.

The boy muffled another moan, and managed to smile weakly up at her. "It's okay," he forced out, voice strained from holding back groans of pain. "I think the circulation's coming back now; I should be just fine in another minute." Despite the fact it was obvious he wasn't really fine, Riichi found herself breathing a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't royally pissed off at her. There was _one_ thing to be thankful for.

Riichi opened her mouth to speak, when she caught the sight of a trio of girls out of the corner of her eye. She swore she heard one of them whisper, 'Now's our chance,' before they each advanced. The girl watched in astonishment as the three of them brazenly shoved their way in-between her and Ryouji. They tittered and cooed, and Ryouji, who had was now able to stand up straight again and wore an expression that was slightly less pained, could only smile at them expectantly. "Miyako-chan, Ayumi-chan, and Raimi-chan! What can I do for you girls?"

"Ryouji-san, would you like to come to karaoke with us?" one of them asked. She giggled cutely and bobbed foreword slightly in what might have been an attempt to make him focus on her chest. Not having been acquainted with such methods of attention-seeking, Riichi wasn't rightly sure.

The one next to her gave her own giggle. "We heard you went to a café yesterday. If you recommend it, we can stop by afterwards?" The third did nothing more than laugh shyly off to the side. Obviously she wasn't as accustomed to this as the other two were. That or she was the pure type and genuinely liked Ryouji. Whatever the case it made the observing girl gag.

Riichi took this all in with unamused maliciousness. Really, the audacity of them. To think they'd take a chance like that and try to weasel their way in. She narrowed her eyes in irritation and wanted nothing more than to exclaim loudly how she had already called Ryouji. He was hers and they weren't going to take him away.

This thought was what made her stop. _Hers_? What right did she have claiming him? Better yet, why was she so dead set on doing it? It wasn't as if she was like these girls, she didn't want to duke it out for Ryouji, especially when she knew it gave the boy no greater pleasure than having girls fight over him. The question that really needed to be answered though, was when had she become so possessive?

"I'm sorry, I've already promised myself to Rii-chan for the day."

This proclamation drove Riichi out of her thoughts. She looked up in surprise to meet the boy's smiling blue eyes. Her shock must have been evident because he looked slightly hurt. "You think I would forget?" he asked. "Why Rii-chan, I'm not that unreliable am I?"

Riichi shook her head in the negative, but whatever it was she was going to say was once again silenced by one of the girls. "Isn't Riichi-san going to answer that letter of hers?" the second one snipped.

The first one gave a girlish sniff. "It would be rude to keep them waiting much longer. We'll keep Ryouji-san company while you get to that."

They were good arguments, she really couldn't deny that. Honestly, she really should have read the letter, and at least answered whatever it was it was yelling at her for now. But it was something about the way they looked about ready to paw all over Ryouji, and their almost catlike glances of spite that made her do something completely reckless, and probably liable to get her in some serious trouble.

Riichi never took her gaze off of them as she reached a stiff hand into her locker and pulled out the letter. The paper switched hands, and she used her now free right hand to remove her shoes and change them for her indoor slippers. After all this was done, the girl took the letter in both hands and tore it neatly down the middle, without ever giving the contents a sparing glance. The girls looked utterly baffled.

"Oh dear," she hissed, making a general show of badly feigning embarrassment. "Maybe I should make sure my hands don't slip next time. Poor bloke won't have a chance to get rejected in person." With that said, the girl placed the two sides together and tore them in half again. She crumpled them in one hand and reached over to throw the ball into the nearby trashcan.

Ryouji, while looking almost as surprised as the girls, couldn't hide his flicker of relief. Riichi was unsure what to make of this, but she was too preoccupied staring down the now obviously angry girls to really give it much thought. She now had to try wrapping her mind around the fact that she had just acknowledged and declared war in her own terms.

The brief thought that this was a horrible mistake crossed her mind, but she quashed it at once. Especially because now there really was no turning back, no feigning ignorance, no airheaded apologies in hopes that they would all forgive-and-forget. This was the final nail in her already dangerously sealed coffin.

"There you have it," Ryouji spoke up. His voice wasn't enough to break the ever-rising tension, but it certainly got at least two of the other girls to look back at him. "I'm sorry ladies, maybe tomorrow?" He gave a rather dramatic, and yet still graceful, bow, before striding through them to take Riichi delicately by the elbow. "Shall we?" he asked, escorting her out the doors before she could give her consent. "Junpei-kun said he'll meet us there."

The girl allowed herself be led without any actual resistance. She did, however, continue to glare spitefully at the road ahead of them. "Oi, Ryouji," she spat. The boy just 'hmmed' amiably, unperturbed by her snappish attitude. "You better be thankful. I mean _real_ thankful." This did get a reaction out of him, and Ryouji gazed down at her in puzzled concern.

"If you say so?"

oOo

Ryouji hadn't been lying; nothing really _had_ happened with those girls. (Or perhaps he was, but she sincerely doubted that. He had shown several times before that he was just as capable of lying to her as she was to him. In other words, it was almost impossible.) From his accounts all that had happened was they had arrived at the café, talked about their interests and then drilled him for information about the types of girls he liked. When Junpei had pestered him for his answer, he had finally relented and then went on to give a description that suspiciously matched Riichi's personality. He had even matched parts of her that he wouldn't have had knowledge about, because she had only shown them to certain people. Ryouji didn't seem to notice what he was doing, but Junpei certainly did. The rest of the night he had eyed them both, and she was pretty sure he hadn't missed how strangely quiet she had been after that.

Ryouji had walked with them back to the dorm, and then after depositing Riichi on the safety of the doorstep, Junpei had forcefully led him away back to his own house. The girl had felt miffed for a slight moment, before realizing how good an opportunity this was for her to sit and figure things out. So she had gone inside, trudged up the stairs, and entered her room in pursuit of that very thing.

It wasn't as if this was something that had just snuck up on her. For quite a while now she had noticed that her and Ryouji were quite _different _to say the least in regards to a relationship. They weren't dating, but it was almost impossible to really think of them as normal friends; in the whole realm of things it was pretty impossible for her to think of him like she did Akihiko, and certainly not like Junpei. It probably didn't help that every time she called him a friend her chest hurt. If she was noticing correctly, and not deluding herself like all the other girls who fell for the boy, then he seemed equally uncomfortable with that such title. So did that mean they liked each other? Or was this simply a faze that all close friendships between guys and girls went through? If so, then why did that thought hurt too?

Her whole thought process was rudely interrupted by a knock at the door. The girl looked up dazedly, red eyes taking a few moments to focus on the wood of her now offending door. It took her another moment to understand what was going on, and by then the knock had come again and her door was now opening on its own. Yukari emerged, looking imposing, and aggravated, and amused, and worried all wrapped up into one ridiculously meshed together package.

"Sorry, but I knew you were in here, and I figured if we're both girls then it's not like I was going to walk in on something too strange." Riichi stopped herself from saying something that the girl would probably take offensively. Being around Junpei was starting to rub off on her if she was now having to bite her tongue to hold in dirty jokes. The other girl didn't seem to notice her hesitance, and instead boldly strolled across the floor to take a seat on the rug in front of the bed. Yukari patted the floor in front of her and Riichi obeyed by slipping silently off the mattress and into a cross-legged seated position.

In the silence Riichi pursed her lips together after realizing that Yukari was waiting for her to say the first thing. She wasn't sure why the girl had come in, but it had to have been important if she had walked on in without being invited. Yukari was forward, but she wasn't normally rude or as imposing as she was now. "So," the dark brunette started out with, "how's the weather today?"

Yukari let out an exhausted sigh. Apparently that hadn't been the right thing to say. "You know what I'm here for." She hadn't the slightest idea. "Junpei called me earlier, right after you guys had left Hagakure." He had? Damn, either he was fast with a phone or she had been really out of it. "He said Ryouji had some very interesting things to say about his choice of girls." Well it had sounded pretty familiar. "He also told me how you've been acting around him the past few days. Though honestly I've noticed it to." That was news to her. How had she been acting?

The pink clad girl stared at her for a few more minutes, and sighed again when it was obvious that Riichi's blank expression wasn't leaving anytime soon. "Riichi," she started, making the other girl cock her head in expectance. "I know that I shouldn't be butting into these kind of matters, and honestly I understand the concept of 'to each his own', but really? Did you honestly have to pick Ryouji of all guys to start crushing on?"

This statement hit the girl like a ton of bricks. Like? She liked Ryouji? Like, like-liked Ryouji? Like a girlfriend 'likes' her boyfriend?

Riichi sat there gaping like a fish. While the thought had occurred to her once or twice before, hearing someone else say it was like cementing it in reality. It wasn't mere speculation anymore. At this thought she placed her hands over her cheeks and refused to look any higher than the trim of her socks.

Yukari found this reaction slightly worrisome. "Why is that so surprising?" she asked. "You can't tell me you didn't notice it." Riichi shook her head in the negative. "Seriously? I knew you were ditzy sometimes, but Riichi this takes the cake. It's so _obvious_. The only reason wonderboy doesn't know it himself is because he's as dim as you are when it comes to real affection."

The girl only blushed harder at this. Obvious? Did that mean that everyone knew about it? Well, Yukari had commented on Junpei, so that probably meant he had figured it out. But if Junpei of all people had noticed that then there was no way everyone else didn't. This probably explained why those stupid fans of his had chosen this time to strike.

Thinking of his fans made her stomach roll all over again.

"But seriously, I never pegged you for the jealous type." Riichi raised her head just enough to take in Yukari's laidback expression. She cocked her head quizzically and could only manage to make a slight squeak in order to properly express her confusion. "You've been glaring at those fans of his all week. The past two days especially, you've been pretty hostile whenever they come near you two."

Riichi could honestly say she hadn't noticed this. Or if she had she had subconsciously made sure that she would choose to forget this detail. Jealousy did explain a lot of things though. Her recent irritation, the burning in her chest, and her uncharacteristic possessiveness were simply a few things that this theory clarified. The girl felt her cheeks burn again. So she was jealous. Jealous because she really liked Ryouji.

Yukari took notice of this confused discomfort and leaned over to place a reassuring hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I don't approve," she explained, "but I support you okay. You have to have _some _form of encouragement if you're going after a guy like Ryouji." She rolled her eyes as if the mere thought of it was asinine.

The girl felt herself bristle at this. "What's wrong with him?" she snapped, suddenly defensive for the boy. "He's kind, and funny, and whenever he talks it's like he knows the exact thing to say to calm you down. It's soothing to be near him. And if you ever looked in his eyes, it's so entrancing that you don't want to look away, and…" she trailed off, only to forgo blushing for turning pale. Oh dear she really did like this boy.

"Done yet?" Yukari, despite her disapproval, looked particularly amused. "You really have it bad don't you?" She ignored Riichi's responding flush and repositioned herself on her knees. "Now," she began. "If we're going to make this work, then we're going to have to get his attention. Honestly I doubt it'll be that hard. He pretty much has eyes only for you, if his conversations with Stupei are any proof."

Riichi bit her lip and tried not to look worried about whatever Yukari had planned. "Since when do you collaborate with Junpei on this kind of stuff. Actually since when do you two work together on _anything_?"

Yukari snorted and waved it away without mercy. "Since you two were so damn hopeless," she sniffed. "Honestly just watching the way you guys tiptoe around each other is starting to become nauseating, and since Junpei's the only male I know who actually likes the guy, I had to use him to talk to Ryouji about this." She leaned closer and reached over to undo Riichi's hair from her hair band. "What should we do with you hair? Maybe we could curl it lightly and add a few hair pins. Oh that butterfly one I have should work out great." Yukari laughed giddily and beamed down at the now distraught girl. "I promise, you're going to _worship _me for this tomorrow."

Riichi wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing.


	3. III

_Well, this is the third and final chapter. I finished it pretty quickly this time, especially considering how long the last chapter took me. I didn't get any feedback from the last one, which made me kind of sad. But I really needed to just get this done and post it, so I decided what the hell. I hope you like the ending, and well, I hope you liked the whole thing actually. _

**III**

Yukari had certainly gotten her way. After Riichi had informed them all that there would be no trip to Tartarus that day, the two girls had disappeared to Yukari's room, and hadn't emerged until well into the night. With everyone asleep, no one had been privy to Riichi sneaking out and tiptoeing down the hallway to her own room, clutching a gaggle of items that she was expected to wear the next morning. In all honesty, the girl had been surprised she had been able to carry it all with as much ease as she had. To make sure her plans were put into motion, Yukari had arrived early the next morning and had assisted -read dictated- Riichi with her appearance.

The brunette had emerged with the front of her hair curled and her bangs held out of her eyes with a pin featuring a pale blue butterfly. (The same blue as _his _eyes, she had thought. And in her musings she had vaguely remembered another boy whose eyes were the same haunting blue.) Her neck donned one of Yukari's chokers, a thin pink ribbon with a small butterfly that matched the one now situated in her hair. She wore a collection of bangles on her wrist, and other then the smell of lavender replacing her usual strawberry shampoo, that had been the extent of what they had done. Despite the fact that they couldn't do anything more in thanks to the uniform, Yukari had forced her to try several different outfits with promises that on a holiday she would look super cute. Riichi had found herself dreading Sunday.

But even with all the dreading and unwillingness to go along with the makeover, Riichi found herself giddily anticipating meeting Ryouji on the train. She had to hand it to Yukari, the girl sure knew how to make someone look cute, even if that someone normally was very good at the practice herself. And now that she had actually accepted the fact that she liked -really _liked_- Ryouji, it was exciting to think about how the boy might respond. (Honestly, the thing that had probably been really hard to accept, was just how easy it had been to acknowledge her feelings. In all of her dreams as a little girl, she had never once thought that something like this could be as natural as breathing. Even as a child she hadn't been naïve enough to believe that.)

She had boarded the train that morning, and was sorely disappointed when the boy was nowhere in sight. Riichi found herself pouting. It was very unusual for Ryouji not to be on the same train as her, and the one day he missed was the day she had gone through all this trouble. Despite the fact that it really wasn't his fault, the girl couldn't help but blame him for being a moron. Apparently she hadn't been menacing enough, because one of the men who normally rode this train jokingly asked her, "So where's your boyfriend?" She had put an end to that real quickly, with a barked "No idea!". After that display her fellow occupants found themselves giving her an unusually wide berth.

Riichi had pretty much deflated by the time she arrived at the gates and walked into the school. She wasn't angry anymore, but she couldn't deny the stab of disappointment she still felt. Because of this she didn't notice that almost everyone she passed was staring at her. Nor did she notice how Yukari, who had waited right before the doors to see her handiwork, smirked in pride before disappearing back into the building.

The girl sighed as she made her way inside and approached her shoe locker. Well, she supposed it wasn't all bad. There would always be chances to see his reaction in class, and lunch would be the perfect time to weasel something out of him. Then again, he might not be in class today. If he wasn't on the train, he might be sick. Maybe he just wouldn't show up at all today. This drove the disappointment that much further home, and Riichi let another long sigh hiss through her teeth. Lord today was not her day.

She lifted her arm and grasped the handle of her shoe locker with a lazy hand. When she opened it and stared at the contents, the thought occurred to her that maybe it was a good thing Ryouji hadn't been on the train that morning.

The whole inside of the metal box had been splattered with multi-colored paints. Now colored purple, blue, magenta, and a sickly looking green, it reminded her of how a kaleidoscope might look like if someone had vomited it out. Her nose curled and she reluctantly reached inside to remove her shoes from the confines. She pulled them out and was further disgusted and disappointed to find that, while they had escaped the painting party, they hadn't escaped unscathed. Myriads of words, colored in the same way as her locker, were written across her slippers in marker. 'Slut, Bitch, Tramp' were only a few of the words splayed across the white expanse of slippers. (The rest of the words she wasn't sure she wanted to even think.)

Riichi set the slippers on the top of the lockers, and resorted to staring at them. She ignored the confused stares that everyone else was now giving her and opted to bite her lip and think about what she was going to do now. She couldn't go to class with them like this, and she highly doubted there was enough time for her to go out to the fountains and wash them. Honestly she wasn't sure if any amount of washing would get the marker out of them. A thought came to her, and Riichi bolted to the trash can. She smiled giddily when she found what she was looking for, and after fishing them out she got to work.

oOo

Class hadn't been as bad today as the last few days. In fact, aside from the whole fiasco that now resided in her locker, things had pretty much gotten better. Well, if you consider being ignored 'better'. But Riichi far preferred her fellow female classmates disregard than their constant venomous glares. It had been pretty refreshing to go throughout the day without having that itchy and uncomfortable feeling of eyes boring heatedly into you.

Her day had proven to get even better when Ryouji had stumbled in just minutes after class began, and nervously -though still with that charm he never seemed to drop- apologized for being late. When his gaze had landed on her she waved happily, and her smile brightened even more when he had paused and stared wide-eyed. Riichi had decided that maybe having Yukari help her out once in a while wasn't such a bad idea.

So you really couldn't blame her for the giddy smile and excited fidgeting she gave as boy approached her at lunch.

"Pardon me, but may I inquire as to whether the princess would like an escort after school today?" Ryouji asked, after smiling sweetly and bowing to be at eye-level with her.

Riichi found herself having to bite her lip in order not to grin like a fool. "It's rather strange for you to ask this early," she said, deciding that she might as well tease him a little. He deserved it after making her worry earlier.

Ryouji merely shrugged as he straightened back up. "Well, I was worried that if I didn't you would be swept away by someone else before I got to you." He smiled again and cocked his head flirtatiously. "I have to watch my back today since you're looking so cute."

Her smile only brightened and Riichi felt her stomach flip. Unlike the last few days though this churning was pleasant. "I have Student Council today though, so you'll have to wait a while after school." He shrugged once more and assured her that it as quite fine with him.

"Oi, Reech it's your turn to get the food today," Junpei interrupted their exchange. The two looked up to see him standing in front of them, looking both awkward and irritated. He held out his closed hand, and waited until she gave hers to drop his money in her open palm. "Just get the usual 'kay. And I want my change _back._" His comment was accompanied by a rather pointed look at Ryouji who merely smiled and chuckled pleasantly.

The girl rolled her eyes and pushed against the desk to scoot her chair back. She was surprised by Ryouji's outstretched hand, and felt her cheeks flush lightly as she took it and allowed him to help her up. The boy chuckled at her obvious embarrassment. Junpei took this all with a rather queasy smile. "Are you two seriously…." whatever he was going to say was cut off as his gaze traveled lower. "What the hell happened to your shoes?"

Riichi cocked her head before lowering her gaze to follow his. Her slippers stared back up at her, now sporting a color scheme that greatly resembled what was painted in her locker. She wiggled her toes, taking in her handiwork with mild interest. "I got bored," she stated. "This was all I had to color." Riichi had been grateful that the girls had decided to throw away the markers they had ruined her slippers with. It made it much easier to cover up the writing with the splotches she had colored her whole slippers.

Ryouji's expression as he stared down at them looked contemplative. "Riichi, are you," he started, and then seemed to rethink it. "Nevermind," he told her, when she looked up at him quizzically. "Hey, I'll go with you get lunch today, mmkay?"

The girl paused before nodding lightly. Now this was a surprise. Ryouji normally didn't accompany her many places inside the school. She attributed it to his creed of not suffocating a girl by being around her all the time. But even though it was unusual, it wasn't unappreciated. "Let's go then, we'll be back Junpei." She hesitated and then took Ryouji's hand in her own. The boy looked mildly surprised that she had taken the initiative for once, but made no other indication of it.

She barely registered Junpei's rolling eyes and wave as Ryouji pulled her along with him. They reached the door and she slid it open, only to be greeted by Akihiko's surprised face and raised arm, no doubt in order to open the door she had just slid open for him.

"Oh hey," he said. "I was looking for you."

"Really?" she asked, common sense out the window thanks to her remaining shock. "Th-that's nice?"

Akihiko let out a chuckle. "You sound happy," he teased, and reached over to ruffle her hair. Riichi snorted, now having composed herself, and fought him off with her free hand. "I don't have club today, you wanna go out to eat after school?"

"Sorry, Rii-chan's already going out with me."

Riichi focused wide eyes on Ryouji's face. She felt his grip on her hand increase and though he was still wearing his ever-cheery smile, there was an obvious trace of, anger? Was Ryouji _jealous_? The girl felt a light flush settle over her cheeks before she hurried to try and get rid of it. Blushing like a schoolgirl -though honestly she _was_ a schoolgirl- wasn't going to do much of anything for her right now.

The silver-haired boy cocked an eyebrow. "Is that so?" he asked, looking more amused then the irritation that a situation like this normally brought about. "That's too bad."

Still reeling from the knowledge of Ryouji's potential jealousy (of which made a pleasant lump form in her throat, but this wasn't really the time to be thinking about stuff like that) Riichi felt herself fumbling to disarm any potential blowups that might ensue. "Um, sorry Senpai," she giggled nervously. "Maybe Monday?" She ignored the strangled sound of alarm that erupted from Ryouji's throat, but did give his hand a light squeeze to hopefully reassure him.

Akihiko nodded and turned to leave. "Well, I'll see you back at home then. Be careful alright." He gave her hair one more parting tousle before heading back towards the senior hallway.

Ryouji's grip tightened again before going slack. "Um, I'm sorry about that," he apologized. "It wasn't really my place." He looked like a kicked puppy right then. Downcast expression, refusal to meet her eyes, and shuffling of normally confident feet.

Riichi smiled despite herself. "It's okay," she assured him. "I already promised you right?" His expression lit back up and the girl had to smile wider. "Now let's go. Junpei looks like he's about ready to murder someone." She thrust her thumb over her shoulder, indicating the now thoroughly unappeased boy. Ryouji chuckled, and led her out on their way.

It was probably because of how happy he looked right then, that she was able to ignore the strange looks they were receiving. It was also why she was able to stamp down the feeling of dread that was now settling in her stomach. "Thank you Akihiko," she muttered under her breath, just low enough that Ryouji didn't catch it. She just hoped that this wasn't going to hurt her already damaged position.

oOo

"Riichi-kun, you're looking to be in unusually high spirits today. Did something good happen?"

She looked up from her work to catch Hidetoshi's worried glance. Her smile lessened a bit, and she felt herself looking slightly guilty. "Oh, no I just. Well, yeah?" She was fumbling over her words now. Unsure of whether or not to explain the jolts of excitement coursing through her, or keep it to herself and let them all think she was slowly degrading into lunacy. One really couldn't blame her if she was. What being a member of SEES entailed was enough to drive most people mad.

Both eyebrows raised in concern before he blinked it away and decided to let it go. "Well, carry on then," he told her. "Just don't let it mess up your work. Though I doubt you of all people would make a mistake such as that."

Despite his normal condescending tone, Riichi caught the trust behind his words. She smiled, nodded, and went back to organizing the list of winter break forms in alphabetical order. She noticed, with a note of detached amusement, that all of the members of their dorm had put 'staying at school' for their plans. Even with the loss of a reason to stay, it seemed old habits died particularly hard.

"Arisato-senpai." Her attention was now diverted to their treasurer, and she gave Chihiro a responding smile. "I don't mean to be rude or anything," the girl stuttered, "but do-do you know what's being said about you?"

Riichi's smile took a particularly strained note. No, she didn't know, but she was pretty sure she had a good idea of it. "What are they saying Chihiro-san?" she asked.

The fidgety girl bit her lip and looked particularly alarmed at how restrained Riichi's expression was. "Well, um, my classmates are saying that they think you're getting too cocky," she managed out. "That since Sanada-senpai, and Mochizuki-senpai are both fighting over you now, you're getting really…" she trailed off and became so worried of making the older girl angry that she hid behind her binder. "I'm sorry," the girl squeaked. "I just, wanted to warn you! I don't think like them or anything, I swear!"

The junior smiled softly and reached up to gently pat the top of the girl's head. "It's okay," she assured. "I believe you."

Chihiro sniffed, and peeked anxiously over the top of the blue binder. "I-well…Just be careful Aristao-senpai," she whispered tearfully. "They've been talking about scary things like getting the seniors to intervene and, I don't want you to get hurt or anything."

Hidetoshi looked particularly perturbed by this whole exchange. "Give me names," he ordered, making both girls jump. "If there have been any threats implied then it is the duty of the disciplinary committee to make sure this is taken care of." The boy set down his work and fished out a small notebook and a pencil in order to take notes.

Chihiro shook like a leaf. "But-but you can't do anything unless they really try something can you?" she asked, genuinely unsure of whether or not this was a good idea.

"Both of you settle down." The whole room was silenced by Misturu's soft -but still quite commanding- tone. "There can be nothing done if it's merely talk," she said, putting any thoughts of disciplinary action to sleep. "But Arisato," the girl snapped to attention with the utterance of her name. "I do second Fushimi's concerns. You've been a particularly hot topic among the girls recently. Though I don't have a say in who you hang out with-" Was that distaste in her voice? Did _everyone_ think Ryouji was such a horrible influence? "-you might want to watch yourself for a while. We can't have this situation affecting club activities, you understand?"

Unlike Hidetoshi's actions earlier, Misturu never once looked up from her work. Riichi found her expression falling into badly feigned gratitude. "Thanks," she said. "I'll be sure to do that." With a sigh and an attempt to ignore the several curious and concerned looks her fellow council members were now giving her, Riichi attempted to get back to her work.

She found herself heaving a large sigh when the door slid open and a rather disgruntled voice called out, "Arisato, Riichi. You're wanted."

"By who?" the girl snapped. After this action, and the now even more surprised looks she was receiving, the girl found herself flushing. "Um, what for?" she asked, adopting a softer, more polite tone in her embarrassment.

The boy at the door shrugged. "Dunno," he admitted, making her face fall further. "Just was told that you're urgently needed on the roof. Something about a teacher's worries, didn't really pay enough attention to get the whole thing." He shrugged again and was gone. Apparently that was all he felt he needed to consider his duty done.

She was floored by the boy's general indifference, but decided to go with it anyway. Riichi shot a glance towards Mitsuru, who sighed -without ever looking up from her papers- before waving an elegant hand. "You're excused for today," she granted. Riichi nodded and stood up to leave. "Just remember what I said." This time the redheaded woman did look up, only to give a pointed look at her. Just like Mitsuru to make sure one knew of their more pressing duties.

"Thanks again, I'm leaving first." With a bow, a prayer that her Senpai wouldn't send her warning looks all night when they were both home, and a sharp turn on her heel, Riichi exited the room and made her way up the stairs.

oOo

Well she should have seen this coming ten miles away.

The girl had done as she had been told and had made her way up the stairs and into, what she had presumed to be, the safety of the rooftop. As soon as she had taken two steps away from the door, she had been roughly grabbed by both arms, yanked foreword, and she had heard the door slam behind her. (For a moment she was under the impression that they had locked it as well, but then she remembered that one required a key to lock that particular door, and the only one who had said key was the night janitor who locked up everything in the wee hours of the night before returning home.) After being lead halfway across the roof and thrown foreword, it didn't take long for Riichi to come to the conclusion that she had been tricked. Instead of being angry with them for doing it, she had found herself exhausted and irritated with herself for letting it happen in the first place. Really, she needed to learn to keep her guard up _outside _of Tartarus as well. (Now that she thought about it, it was pretty suspicious for a teacher to want to see her on the roof of all places.)

"I suppose you know why you're here."

Riichi looked up into the bleached blonde hair and heavily made-up face of the girl who had addressed her. Ah, she was part of Akihiko's fan club wasn't she? Riichi recognized her as one of the ones who always hovered around the boy. So did that mean she was defecting to Ryouji now? But they were like, complete opposites of each other. How did one change preferences that drastically? Maybe this was simply the famed infatuation that she knew most girls went through. Riichi recalled she had once had her brush with it as well. Though she wasn't sure if comparing this kind of situation to an obsession with rocky road ice cream was really possible.

The brunette lapsed into her thoughts. Mind running circles in her self-imposed confusion. In her quiet state and refusal to answer, the surrounding group of girls all seemed to take this as repentance. "I'm glad you understand," the girl, who Riichi was now pinning as the leader, sniffed. "If you would have had enough foresight yesterday to read that last warning letter, we would have been disposed to possibly forgive you. But as it stands, your antics have left us no choice."

It was a surprisingly intelligent sounding speech for someone who looked like they spent a total of 14 out of their 17 hour day awake on their make-up alone. But unfortunately, Riichi had only caught the tail end of it, and what she had caught had made absolutely no sense. "Forgive?" she repeated dumbly. "Wait, I thought you guys brought me here so we could tell each other off. I wasn't planning on being forgiven."

It was all blondie could do to gape in amazement at her. Still failing to understand what had just conspired, Riichi stared back up at her in confusion and general skepticism. It was finally the black-haired girl standing next to blondie -who was by now quickly losing her position as leader in Riichi's eyes- who spoke up. "We're not forgiving you, you stupid loser!" and Riichi couldn't help but start a little in surprise at this, "She just said that you're outta luck, got it? Honestly do you listen when people talk to you? That's why you're in this mess in the first place you little tramp!"

Ah, now _this _had been what she was expecting. A shouting match with a bunch of normally giggly girls. It was kind of anti-climactic how they were doing this though. Honestly the amount of authority they were exhibiting resembled one of those chick-flicks about some weird unpopular girl who's bullied by the really popular chicks. Now all she needed was the most popular boy to bust through the doorway and declare his undying love for her and the whole cheesy story would be complete. Riichi took a moment to think that over and then decided that the whole plot of those movies were clichéd and unrealistic for a reason. Who was stupid enough to barge into one of these kinds of meetings? Not only would that be social suicide for yourself, but it never actually helped the other person in reality. Perhaps she had too much free time in recent days, she was beginning to take Yukari up on watching way too many movies.

"Do you understand now?" Riichi was shaken out of her thoughts and brought once more to the event at hand. Oh she understood, she just wasn't sure how to go about saying it. "You're going to have to speak up," she continued to snarl.

"Yeah, you're not the 'new girl' anymore. You should know the rules by now!" Another one decided to join the fray. Riichi twisted to look at her, and was surprised to note how good her dictation was with that sucker lodged in the back of her throat.

The brunette sucked in a breath and readied herself. "May I ask something?" she inquired. The girls all glowered at her as if that was a stupid question all in itself. Deciding it didn't really matter, Riichi continued. "Was this something that needed to be said in a whole group? Or do all of you have something in particular that you need to address?" She was surprising herself with her confidence. Or in this situation it was probably considered stupidity. Riichi wasn't exactly sure where that dread from a few days ago had gone; maybe it had just built up enough that she was sick and tired of the whole thing. She was notorious for making stupid decisions after feeling cornered for so long.

Most, if not all, of the girls bristled viciously. "How dare you!" she heard one scream behind her.

"You've got a lot of nerve!" another one snarled.

This erupted a general screaming fest, and Riichi felt her head throb. Almost all of them were shouting now, and though she could only hear bits and pieces of anything, the bits she heard were pretty nasty. Girls were certainly ruthless nowadays.

"Girls silence!" As if on cue, every single one of them went quiet. Riichi peered around her before settling her gaze on the quad of girls directly in front of her. Oh, blondie had grown a spine now. "Arisato," and the way she spit her name made Riichi crinkle her nose in distaste, "we had collectively decided that we need to make sure you get your filthy claws out of both Akihiko-san, and Ryouji-kun."

Well _now_ they were finally getting somewhere. Riichi nodded her head and found herself clasping her hands behind her back. "Well, no offense or anything," good lord she was going to get herself maimed, "but I'm going to need to correct you ladies. I really never had a hold of anyone, especially Akihiko-senpai." She chose to tactfully avoid saying anything about Ryouji, especially since she had already made her point painfully clear yesterday. Hopefully they would conveniently forget that fact. "And on a second note, my claws aren't filthy.

The girls reeled back to say something else, when there was a clattering of steps from the stairwell, and every one of them paused. A collective silence formed around the group, and for once they seemed to be on the same wavelength as Riichi. Every occupant on the roof wanted to figure out who was stupid enough to intrude upon their "meeting".

Though it was soft, there was an unmistakable pair of whisperers.

"Junpei-kun you go out there,"

"Why do I have to go! You're the reason she's in this jam in the first place. Just save her like in one of those chick-flicks they watch."

"…You don't really think it actually happens like that do you?"

"You mean it doesn't? Wai-never mind that! Just go get her!"

"I want to, but if I go out there things aren't going to get better. I don't want her to be troubled any more, especially because of me."

"Dude you're so totally whipped."

"Th-that's not true! Riichi is, she is… she's very precious to me."

"Woah, you're really serious about her aren't you…"

"Anyway just go help her. You're a man right?"

"They'll eat me alive if I go out there! I'm not suicidal!"

"Will you two idiots move,"

"Yukar-hey! What the hell was that for!"

The door swung open forcefully, seeming to fly on it's hinges. The handle smashed viciously on the concrete as the door swung too far and it ricocheted slightly off the wall, whining in protest of any further damage to itself. Yukari emerged from the stairwell. Her expression managed to look flat and seriously pissed off all at once.

"Riichi," she snapped, making both the girl in question and the group opposite her jump at once. "Ms. Toriumi wants to talk to you about that paper you turned in yesterday." It was an innocent enough attempt to get her out of this jam, but Yukari looked far too menacing to be obeyed that easily. In fact, Riichi felt almost more safe with the group that had probably intended to maul her.

"Th-thanks?" she stammered, unsure whether to really be thankful at all.

Yukari took no heed of her hesitance and jabbed a thumb forcefully behind her. "Now," she ordered snappishly. Riichi had no choice but to scurry after her, afraid that if she made the girl wait any longer she really would be in danger. She scooted past the girl and into the safety of the stairwell. Yukari followed and shut the door tightly behind them, and Riichi swore she head a muttered, "Wish I could lock those stupid girls up there."

"Um," Riichi paused at the head of the stairs and turned to focus her gaze back on the other girl. "Really, thanks," she said, flushing lightly. "I really appreciate it."

Yukari paused herself, expression showing that she hadn't expected the girl to react this way. After a moment she gave a soft smile and nodded lightly. "Really, it's no problem. Us girls have to look out for each other right?" With that said she patted the shorter girl twice on the cheek and walked downstairs. "Let's go," she said, regaining her strict tone. "If we stay up here too long we'll run into those airheads again."

Riichi nodded and padded softly down the stairs after the girl. They didn't stop until they had reached the senior hallway. The girl looked up to see the worried figures of the two boys they had heard earlier. "Let's go," Yukari ordered, grabbing Junpei's upper arm and tugging him down the other staircase.

The boy protested quite loudly. "Waitaminute! Why do I have to go with you? Let me go already!" His struggles were silenced at once by Yukari's menacing glare.

"You know very well why you have to," she snarled, shooting a pointed look at the other two. Her grip on the boy's arm visibly increased and she mercilessly tugged him down the stairs and out of sight.

This left Ryouji and Riichi to exchange glances before lapsing into an awkward silence. The two fidgeted, looking anywhere possible except at each other. Finally Ryouji cleared his throat and spoke up. "I'm glad you're okay," he told the girl. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to do anything, I was, well…" He found himself unable to continue, and trailed off nervously.

Riichi gave a stiff nod. "It's okay," she assured the boy. "I understand, really. If you had gone out there it would have made things worse." He gave a soft grunt to show his understanding. They once more fell silent.

It was almost nauseating how completely awkward this was now. For someone she had been so comfortable, so _radiant _around, it was almost unbelievable to think that they would have no idea what to say now. Then again, maybe it was because being together was so easy that they were so afraid to do something wrong lest they mess up whatever it was that bound them together.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and decided that she needed to make this right. "Ryouji," the girl whispered.

"Yes?" He surprised her by how quick he answered. It was as if he had been waiting to see her reaction; to make sure she was still alright with him.

Riichi found herself biting her lip. "Um," she began, and then lost her nerve. "Maybe we should go somewhere else, they'll be down soon and I'm sure it won't make them any happier to see us right here."

Ryouji gave a light 'oh' before he nodded. The boy started for the stairs, stopped, and then glanced back at her nervously. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached back and gently took her hand in his. Riichi gave a start in surprise, to which he responded by hurriedly attempting to pull away. The girl halted all his efforts by squeezing his hand and even hastening to place her other on the back of his. He looked down, taking in her small hands enveloping his. Riichi watched the boy give a soft smile before gently leading her down the staircase.

They didn't stop until they were outside and well away from the gates.

Ryouji slowed to a stop in front of a rather rundown office building. Riichi stopped just behind him, and for a moment she thought he was going to lead her into it. In this moment she also found herself wondering since when had Ryouji found this kind of stuff romantic. Instead of whisking her off into the dark abyss of the abandoned interior, he turned around and focused a rather serious expression on her. She found herself shocked speechless by how determined he was.

"I want to apologize for having put you through all this." She found herself nodding her head in confusion. By the way he started this, she could already tell she wasn't going to like where it went. "I should have noticed sooner that what you were going through was because of me. I, I don't want to put you through any more pain," as he said this he bit his lip and it was almost obvious that he was trying hard to keep up a strong front. "So from now on, I'll refrain from being near you."

Riichi couldn't believe her ears. She found herself unable to speak, to even _blink_. After a moment she found herself able to open her mouth, but the girl was still unable to form anything coherent, which she supposed was alright because she didn't have the air to say it. Ryouji looked concerned, but it was probably simply because she looked as if she had something stuck in her windpipe.

When she was finally able to speak, her voice came out far more shrilly then she had intended. "The _hell_ you are!" she hissed girlishly.

"Pardon?" was his squeaked reply.

Her grip on his hand increased, so much so that he winced in discomfort. She didn't really care at that moment. "You, after I've gone through all of that you think you're just going to leave me?" Riichi knew she was being selfish and irrational. She understood that he was only doing this because he didn't want her to get hurt anymore. But she didn't want him to leave. He had wormed his way into her life so easily, so _effortlessly_, and in the nostalgia he brought her he had made it so she didn't know what to do without him. He was the first thing she looked for in the morning; the first person she thought of when she woke up; the only one who made her feel so completely at ease. It was as if they had been together forever, and she didn't want to let that go.

"If you leave me," she finally ground out, "I'll never forgive you. I'll never talk to you again." Despite the fact that she was trying to be menacing, she felt angry tears well up in her eyes and the girl had to lower her head in order to hide them. Her efforts were in vain because Ryouji saw them at once.

She didn't see his pained expression, nor was she witness to how lost he looked. But she did feel his hand slip from hers, and his arms encircle her to pull her against his chest. Riichi gave no resistance as she buried her face into the front of his shirt. Shaky hands griped his suspenders in an effort to keep him here. As if she was afraid that he would slip through her fingers without a second thought.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into the crown of her head. "Don't cry, I'm sorry." His attempts at soothing her only made her want to cry harder. Ryouji seemed to sense this, because he lowered his head to whisper against her jawbone. "I'm here, I'll always be here," he assured her. "Only for you, my dearest."

She was so caught up in trying not to quiver that she missed the tail end of his declaration. (Had she heard it, she might have put the pieces together much sooner.) She did though, understand what he was promising her. Riichi pressed her face against his chest, and gave his suspenders a weak shake. "You better," she ordered, in a rather trembling voice. "You promised."

He couldn't help but smile. "I promised," he echoed.

oOo

Ryouji had walked her back to the dorm, and upon once more promising he would greet her tomorrow, he left.

Riichi had entered the dorm with mixed feelings of content and unease. She knew he wouldn't purposely betray his promise, but she couldn't be sure he wouldn't still try to keep his distance. The girl had noticed recently that everything he did for her was in order to either keep him by her side, or keep her from being hurt. She had no doubt that in order to keep true to the latter ideal, he would forsake the former.

"So can I take it you two are official now?"

Riichi was jolted from any and all thoughts by the proclamation. Her head whipped up to focus on the figure of Yukari. The girl leaned against the arm of the lobby chair, arms crossed arrogantly over her chest. "Does this mean I can stop worrying about you two tiptoeing around each other like we're in middle school?"

The smaller girl bristled. "Well sorry," she sniffed. "I didn't know our affairs were so troublesome to you."Yukari surprised her by responding with a grin. "There's the girl I know," she giggled. "I was getting worried about you." She picked herself up and walked over to place both hands on Riichi's shoulders. "I know I said I didn't really approve, but I'm glad this worked out for you. You look far happier when you're with him then I've ever seen you. I think I'd have to throttle you if you kept up this ignorance any longer than you did."

Riichi flushed lightly. "Was- was it that obvious?" she wondered aloud.

Yukari merely laughed again. "Honestly, I've seen it for weeks. It's probably because you're such an airhead with this stuff that you didn't notice it yourself." Riichi nodded lightly, unsure of what else she was supposed to do in this situation. Because of her confusion, she almost missed the catlike grin that spread across her friend's face.

"Now," Yukari purred. "We're going to go to my room, and have a nice, long girl-talk. And you're going to tell me _everything_." Riichi found herself once more nodding, though this time she was unsure if she did it out of friendship, or out of fear of what the other girl would do to her had she refused.

oOo

It was half a day. There was only so much someone could have happen to them in half a day. There just wasn't enough time allotted during half days to attempt and mutilate a person. But even though she kept telling herself this, Riichi couldn't help but continue to replay the previous afternoon's encounter over in her head, and thus replay how idiotic she had been, and this was enough to make her queasy. There was no telling what they would try and do after that, and while normally this wasn't a concern for her, she had seen firsthand how many of them there were yesterday. And this wasn't accounting those who probably were unable to come to their meeting.

No matter how proficient she was in killing shadows, they had strength in numbers and she couldn't very well handle this like she did fighting demons in a fantasy tower that wasn't supposed to exist. It just wasn't possible, or probable, for her to start chopping down teenage girls with her naginata. Several harsh consequences would be implemented had she tried.

Riichi bit her lip, sucked in a (not quite) reassuring breath, and tried to detach herself from the floor of the station. Alas, it was apparently becoming an almost impossible feat, as her feet refused to pick themselves up. The attendant gave her a rather strange look as people parted around her in order to bypass the straight standing little girl who didn't seem like she wanted any part in moving. The girl flashed a nervous smile at the older man, before forcing herself to shuffle foreword. It was quite a painstaking process and by the time she had finally managed to successfully maneuver herself onto the train, she was pretty worn out. This was all subject to change though when she was greeted by a smile that reminded her very much of the sun.

"Good morning Rii-chan," Ryouji chirped. He had always been a morning person, she reminded herself. "You're looking adorable today as well." She thanked him, managed out a half-cheery greeting, and went about marveling at how this was the happiest she had seen in him a while. His smile -if it was even possible- brightened and he leaned down to where their noses were almost brushing against each other. "If you would like, might it be possible for us to go look around the town some more after school? I still haven't been able to see everything yet. Just the two of us?"

The girl felt a flush rise to her cheeks. More so when she felt him grasp the overhead ring she was holding, an act that involved him enveloping her hand with his. Apparently -though they hadn't really had any to begin with- any and all personal space barriers were no longer in effect. This was enough to put her at some amount of ease. If he was acting like this then that meant he really was honoring his promise. She wouldn't have to worry about Ryouji flaking out on her anymore. Not that the boy was notorious for doing anything 'flaky'.

"I would like that," she finally responded, giving him a rather excited grin. Yes, she would like that very much. So would Yukari, she found herself thinking, when this was relayed to the girl, who had proven yesterday night to be very interested in the love life, or previous lack thereof, of her best friend.

Ryouji looked slightly startled, as if he hadn't been expecting this, before grinning like a little boy on Christmas. She had been right, he really was more adorable then everyone gave him credit for. His expression contorted to one of thought, and she watched as he briefly looked torn between something. Finally he seemed to have found his resolve and he gazed back at her. "Um, Rii-chan?" he asked.

Riichi lifted her gaze a bit higher and gave him a cheery smile to show she was listening. Ryouji didn't say anything, but he leaned foreword, and it wasn't until he was mere inches away from her, and still closing in, that she had been able to get any notion of what he was doing. She flushed, bit her lip, and then readied herself, all in a matter of seconds. And then the train jolted to a stop, and Ryouji was sent off-balance to reel backwards before flying foreword to painfully crack his teeth against her shoulder.

They had both exited the train worse-for-wear, and now the general cause of amusement for the business men who had grown to enjoy the apparent drama they had been unknowingly starring in.

The general awkwardness that the situation had prompted had dissolved by the time they had reached the school, and the both had them had begun joking about the absurdness of it. This lasted until Riichi felt the first stabs of eyes boring holes into her back. Her face fell, and for a moment all she could think of was how the hell she was going to deal with this for the rest of the year. Possibly the rest of her school career. She felt Ryouji squeeze her hand, and Riichi looked up into his smiling face. She couldn't help but smile back.

Yes, that was right. As long as he didn't leave her, she would be okay with anything. Stupid snotty girls couldn't get to her anyway if they tried. (She purposefully neglected to remember the fact that they almost had, and that it was a pretty done deal that if she was going to keep associating with Ryouji and Akihiko -even just as friends in the senior's case- they would certainly try again.) That's why she ignored them at the lockers, when he escorted her through the halls, and when they finally entered the classroom. They unlaced their fingers and sat down in their respected seats, and she still continued to ignore the stares. Even the one from Junpei, who looked lost between finding this completely amusing, and the most awkward thing he had ever seen.

(Yukari on the other hand, looked quite smug from her seat. Riichi also noted that while none of the girls were looking particularly nasty towards her, that every one of them were eyeing her warily. It occurred to the girl that her actions last night hadn't actually murdered Yukari's reputation like a stunt like that normally would, but had succeeded in making them all terrified of her. Riichi could understand their feelings. Yukari was a particularly frightening person to try and cross.)

And then it happened. She knew it would, just hadn't really thought it would be this quick. One of the girls in the rows behind her stood up, marched up the row (giving her quite a nasty look as she did so -one Riichi found completely unwarranted) and positioned herself next to Ryouji. "Ryouji-san," she called sweetly, and the boy smiled back up at her. "I was wondering if you would like to go out after school today?"

His smiled turned apologetic and her shook his head. "I'm sorry Mimi-chan," he chirped. "I already have plans for today." She looked crestfallen, and Riichi was surprised to note that Ryouji failed to do what he normally did by telling them he was free on another day. "Actually." Ah, here it was. "I'm going to have to decline all future invitations. You see, I belong completely to Rii-chan now, and it would be quite ungentlemanly of me to allow you ladies to get your hopes up."

The girl went pale; Riichi went pale; the class went silent.

He did _not _just do that!

As Ryouji turned and cheerfully waved back at her, her garbled mind came to the conclusion that he had, in fact, either signed her a death warrant, or had managed to protect her as long as he was still 'Prince Charming' to the other girls. (Because who would really want to destroy their prince's happiness? Movies really didn't give that feeling justice.) But whatever he had just done, it was enough to make her feel like she was losing whatever was left of her sanity.

Riichi placed her face in her palms and held back a moan of embarrassed dread. She loved this boy, she really, truly did. But oh lord Ryouji was going to be the death of her.


End file.
